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‘Discovery’ of an old British cemetery at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Part-I – by K.J.S.Chatrath

On my visit to Varanasi, India a few weeks back, I managed to ‘discover’ an old British cemetery there with graves dating back to 1799.

The word ‘discovery’ is being used by me in the way the Europeans claimed to have ‘discovered’ the Americas, India and many other areas from 15th century onwards. These places were already there on earth but since the Europeans did not know about these, they claimed to have ‘discovered’ those. One does not know weather it was just poor use of English language or a bit of pompousness on their part which made them use the word ‘discovery’, but unfortunately the word did stick for quite some time. Anyway, let us let it rest here and take a look at the Varanasai cemetery.

It was not easy locating it. I could get no information from the internet. The local taxi driver and the rickshawallahs were keen to take me to the Hindu burning ghats on the holy Ganges. One of them even asked me, ‘Are you a christian ?’. My honest reply of a No, supplemented by ‘I do not believe in any God’ left him disappointed. I could almost read his mind- ‘Look, here is this old man who does not believe in God but is spending his time looking for old christian graves and that too of foreigners.’

I asked the local Tourist Office but got no clue. So I gave up and started moving towards Sanchi in a taxi. Suddenly I shouted to the driver, ‘Stop. Stop”. He applied the brakes with a jerk and looked back at me ‘Kya hua ji’ (What happened)?. Found it. I have found the cemetery that I was looking for.

And there it was on one of the major roads of the town with a clear board.

While trying to locate this cemetery it would be useful to keep in mind that it is located near Dev Narain Colony, Chaukavat and the PIN number of the area is 221002.

Fortunately the main gate was not locked. The driver too came with me and we spent the next hour moving from one grave to another, taking photographs and ultimately feeling sad at seeing so many children and young ladies having died so early in life. May be, that was one of the prices to be paid for colonialism.

Though there is a an effective boundary wall all around , the condition of old graves is sad. It seems that no one ever visits this place except for fresh burials. Since a large number of foreign tourists visit Varanasi, I am sure, a good number of them would love to visit this heritage cemetery provided it is got spruced up and sufficient publicity is given of its existence.

Sacred to the memory of

William Cowell

Who departed this life

On the 23rd October 1818 (?)

Aged four months and thirteen days.

Now this does look at little eirie though the photograph was taken around noon.

Sacred

To the memory of

James George Brown,

Son of James Cowley Brown, and of Mathilda, his wife

Who departed the earth on March 15th 1821,

Aged 9 months, 15 days.

Sacred to the memory of Henry, Infant son of Lieut. & Mrs. H.C.Clayton who died 3rd August 1830 aged 1 year 6 months and 27 days

Sacred to the memory of Alexander, infant son of Capt. Forbes, 27th Regt., who died 26th August 1851.

Sacred to the memory of John James,who died on May16, 1813, aged 3yrs, 2mys, son of Edward Robert 15dys &

Edward Robert who died on June 10 1813 aged 6 months 15 days,

sons of Thomas and Isabella Yeld

Sacred to the memory of Robert Balhurst Esquire, of the Bengal Civil Service, who died at Benares on the third day of November (not clearly legible)

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Parts II & III of this article will follow later.

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These photographs are available in high resolution and with a small watermark. If interested then please write to chatrath@gmail.com .

4 thoughts on “‘Discovery’ of an old British cemetery at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Part-I – by K.J.S.Chatrath”

Thank you Mr. Chatrath, for the article on this cemetery. I have 3 British ancestors who died in India between 1820 and 1834, and I have been struggling to find the names of the cemeteries where they are buried. Their death records are available and clear, but don’t mention the cemetery, or the church. Your article has reduced my problem by one, so I can concentrate on the other 2. Am looking forward to your next article.

I came across the same cemetery last year next to a carpet factory. I spent only 30 minutes wondering and taking pictures and was fascinated. I could have spent all day there but was a bit rushed. I did put some photos on findagrave.com with transcriptions. I loved Varanasi and hope to go back very soon and our guide was fantastic and enjoyed visiting the cemetery too. India is such a wonderful place.

Thank you. I am glad you liked it. Two more photo-articles on this cemetery will follow. One hopes that by bringing the condition to the notice of a larger audience would help in better maintenance and more visits. After all it is a historical heritage and needs to be preserved.